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When I learned to spin 16 years ago, I learned alone, from a book. I lived in a remote community where there were no opportunities to learn to spin. There was no YouTube, no local guild, no kindly mentor. I was adrift with my new passion, with no guidance. Then I found Spin-Off Magazine. Spin-Off showed...
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Toni Rexroat is the Editor of Crochet M e I tried my hand at spinning for the first time when I was in my mid teens. My mother had been spinning for a few months, and as I watched her I thought, "That doesn't look that hard." After fifteen minutes of attempting to transform roving into...
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Deb Menz shares her color skills in her new DVD. Deb's sampling, from colored fiber to blended batts to yarn and finally a knitted sample. Sophisticated mud blended to match the palette of a beachscape. Create your own double rainbow in yarn I'm a somewhat monochromatic person. Nothing makes...
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The view from my wheel. Spinning at the race track. My daughter Hannah spinning on a CD spindle. Making the unseen seen I think I've mentioned before that my husband, Kelly, drag races on the weekends at our local track in the sportsman category of Supergas (which always makes me giggle in a very...
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Free eBooks to create generations of spinners Ah, bliss. I just returned from a weekend at the Estes Park Wool Market in Estes Park, Colorado. Not only that—but I had a spinning buddy with me. My 6-year-old daughter Hannah, who is still young enough to find everything I do absolutely fascinating...
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Summer can bring us free time to spin on the front porch or join friends for an afternoon in the shade, sipping lemonade in between full bobbins. The long days of light may find us leaving home with our wheels firmly belted in the backseat to visit relatives (and a fiber shop or two along the way). We...
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Trees in the misty haze of Lake Cresent on the Olympic loop highway on the way to Forks, Washington. Debi Dodge, Stephanie Flynn Sokolov, Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa, Nicole Drane, and Karen Poremski amidst the red cedar trees on the Cape Flattery Trail overlooking Neah Bay . The view of Gig Harbor with my...
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The Foothill Fibers Guild (California) has a long history of demonstrating and exhibiting at the Nevada County Fair to help educate the public about fibers and textiles. Volunteer committee members have developed and refined procedures designed to provide fairgoers a rewarding experience each year. A...
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Spread the word about our free Drop Spindle Spinning eBook Every once in a while I start to daydream about what a world overrun by spinners would look, and more importantly, feel like. What if everyone was a spinner? Standing in line at the grocery store you would be discussing with others the merits...
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Liz Gipson designed her scarf to be made on a rigid-heddle loom for the Spring 2004 issue of Spin-Off. Mary Spanos's scarves were created for the Spring 2004 issue of Spin-Off by plying wool and silk . Judie Overbeek made her scarf by combining handspun and millspun yarn. It was included in the Fall...
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Linda behind the wheel with Alden Amos. Linda's "Vanna White act" with Cindy Lair. The entrancing computer-aided cutting machine at Schacht Spindle Company. Ladybug parts ready for assembly. Pretending to be a whorl When I asked Alden Amos and Cindy Lair to star in a two-part video about...
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In an earlier blog post , you may have read about the formation of the youth team, Pirates of the Treadle , from Conner Prairie Pioneer Village in Noblesville, Indiana. The team competes in the Indiana State Fair Sheep to Shawl event. Over the past seven years, this group of teenagers has trained and...
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Spiders are frequent travelers after the Ides of March. When the eggs hatch, the tiny offspring are caught by the slightest breeze in their miniwebs, launching them into space. Many nights as a teenager were spent patrolling the pine trees, looking for orb weavers spinning webs in the branches. For a...
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Jacey Boggs's cocoon yarn. Carol Rhoades's Wensleydale Longwool scarf with edgings to fit your mood. Stephenie Gaustad's inspiring Helix Scarf. Trying something new Spring is almost here! (Well, although it is snowing as I write this, it was sixty degrees in Colorado last week…) Little...
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Alden Amos showing Linda how to get the most out of a wheel. Alden Amos hand-turning parts for his spinning wheels. The Schacht Spindle Company factory floor. (Can you spot Elvis?) Cindy Lair showing Linda about tension. Possessed drive bands and other quick fixes A spinning wheel is a machine, right...